China (Day One)

Alright. I know that the only way I'll ever get all of this on here for my parents (and whoever else stumbles along) to see is if I type straight from the journal I kept. This means that it will most likely be unreadable and inane for all but those especially close to me. Part of me thinks making this a private blog would be the way to go because I'm always concerned that some dope from Pusan who doesn't know me will stumble upon it and go out of his/her way to snicker. Let's see what happens.

And I quote:

"First day was a mess... got to the Friendship Hotel at around 3:00, marveled at its size and got a plane ticket to Shanghai for Monday. Headed to find Quanjude Peking Duck restaurant near Tiananmen Square because I was starving-- plane food sucked. Wandered after meeting a Dutch couple on the subway who commented on my Lonely Planet book; already, I've run into them and a group of Germans, leading me to believe that Beijing is far more international than any city in SoKo.


Walked up and down the streets but couldn't quite get my bearings; a grizzled man with a cart bike urged me to get in after showing directions and like an idiot I complied. It maybe took five minutes to bike there, and the whole way merchants and other riders looked on jealously and heckled. When we arrived at the restaurant, he pulled out a board that said "Standard Fare - 10, Double Fare - 100, Luxury Fare - 250." Of course, he tried to get 250 RMB (roughly $30) off me, and while I scoffed and tried to give him considerably less, he pushed me and yelled things in Mandarin. I ended up escaping paying the 'bargain price' of 50 RMB after a younger Chinese woman stepped in and yelled at him for trying to rip the tourist off.

Very impressed with Quannude; just a gorgeous restaurant that feels like you're eating in someplace five times more expensive than what it is. Peking duck was outrageously good. Server slices it at the table side, and you wrap the meat in a wafer-thin pancake, topping it with scallions and plum sauce. A full serving was less than $15.


I walked around Tianenmen for a while, but it was really dead. I'm surprised how quiet it is here. Korea is far more chaotic in terms of pedestrians. I got bored and headed home on the subway (which shakes uncontrollably-- it feels like a hydraulic ride at a county fair).


When I got home, I wandered the streets looking for anything to do, but found nothing. In the hotel complex, there's a TGI Friday's that has been blasting Avril Lavigne songs repeatedly, and a bar called George's that looks entirely unpopulated. I called it a night and went back to my place to get room service (unlike Korea, there isn't a convenience store to be found in my part of town). I ordered an apple juice and a Sprite (they wouldn't let me order two apple juices for some reason). "Constantine" was on. It seemed pretty shitty, and I passed out with a Sprite in hand."

Uneventful doesn't begin to describe my first day in China, but things got considerably better from here. I apologize for tense inconsistencies and whatever else. Again, I'll never put this stuff up here unless I type it out this way.

(Some missing information from Day One):

"I didn't mention walking through the droves of souvenir salesmen near Tiannemen. What a mess. I was being abducted from all angles by guys selling wares; several times, guys would place hats on my head or watches in my hand, followed by demands that I pay for them, then followed by curses as I handed the merchandise back and walked away silent. One day in and I hate shopping in China, despite hearing from several people here that it's a consumer's paradise. The vendors here are far more aggressive than Koreans, even getting physical at times.

Also, I stumbled into a Chinese video arcade, which was mostly unremarkable. I was impressed that they had cigarette packs in the crane machine (even though nothing beats the set of jumper cables I found in one here in Pusan), two units of Operation Wolf 3 (!?), and a Namco trackball game called Armadillo Racking. People seemed really into Street Fighter 2 and SNK fighters still."

(Also, I realize that my whining in these initial diaries makes me seem like (1) a stupid tourist and (2) an entirely uninteresting person. I'm not denying either one.)

Added to my list of regrets...

I doubt many of you remember this, but towards my final year in Columbia, I tossed around the idea in my mind of making a documentary about the annual International Classic Game Tournament held at a New Hampshire video arcade called Funspot. I had read up on it quite a bit, and was particularly fascinated by the array of participants that took part each year; from Israeli physicists to Canadian concrete testers, the people who were going out of their way to master these digital dinosaurs seemed to be the polar opposite of the classic gamer stereotype (i.e. 40 year-old man with ass permanently attached to the couch in his Mom's basement, remnants of a Cheeto stuck in his teeth). This article from the Boston Phoenix officially sold me on the idea that the drama of this event would make for a great movie.

Well, I never pursued it like I wanted to, even though I remember Ryan Woodsmall and I briefly discussing taking a vacation to attend this event and some Buffalo Wing Eating Competition close-by, and now someone else has gone and done it.



It's a tad different, I know, and definitely a better idea than a straight telling of the competition. From what I've gathered, this is apparently going to be one of the documentaries of the year, receiving great write-ups all over. The director even has been signed on to do a remake, a la "Dogtown and Z-Boys"/"Lords of Dogtown".

I don't doubt that this guy did a much better job with the idea than I ever would have (personally, as someone who loves video games, I think it looks REALLY good), but I can't help but kick myself a little. When I get home from Korea though, I fully plan on fulfilling my dream of mastering this:


Mark Shelley, does my high score at CBGB's still stand?